Columbus Blue Jackets Traing Camp

Gerard Gallant was named Head Coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 25, 2004, after serving as Interm Head Coach since January 1, 2004. His record included a 9-8-1-1 mark at home and 6-1-4 slate in overtime games. He joined the Blue Jackets organization July 18, 2000 and served as an assistant coach for three and a half seasons from 2000-03.

A former NHL All-Star, Gallant came to Columbus after spending the previous five years coaching at the junior and minor pro levels. In 1999-00, he served as the top assistant with the Louisville Panthers of the American Hockey League and spent the previous season as the assistant coach of the Fort Wayne Komets, at the time a member of the International Hockey League.

He began his coaching career with the Summerside (PEI) Western Capitals, a Canadian Junior A team, midway through the 1995-96 season. In his first full season with the club in 1996-97, he led the squad to the Royal Bank Cup Championship, Canada’s Junior A national championship tournament, and a 33-11-11 regular season mark.

On the ice, Gallant logged over 600 games during his NHL career and was a staple at left wing for the Detroit Red Wings for nearly a decade. He broke into the League in 1984, playing in 32 games and posting six goals and 12 assists for 18 points as a rookie with the Red Wings. Over the next eight seasons he averaged 72 games and 56 points per year, including four consecutive 70-plus point seasons from 1986-90. Detroit captured three division titles during Gallant’s tenure and in 1988-89 he was named a Second Team NHL All-Star after posting career-high totals of 39-54-93 in 76 games. He racked up 207-260-467 in 563 games with Detroit and ranks among the all-time leaders in club history in points.

He signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a free agent and played in 51 games with the club during the 1993-94 season before hanging up his skates the following year. Gallant concluded his career having tallied 211-269-480 and 1,764 penalty minutes in 615 games with Detroit and Tampa Bay. Originally the Red Wings’ sixth pick, 107th overall, in the 1981 Entry Draft, he spent two seasons with Adirondack, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, before breaking into the NHL.

Gallant was born on September 2, 1963. He and his wife, Pam, are the parents of a daughter, Melissa, and son, Jason. The family resides in Dublin.

DEAN BLAIS, Associate Coach

Dean Blais was named Associate Coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 25, 2004, after serving as head coach of the University of North Dakota’s men’s hockey team for 10 years. At the conclusion of the 2003-04 season, he finished with the highest career winning percentage of any active NCAA Division I coach at .679 with a 262-115-33 record.

A two-time Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year and three-time WCHA Coach of the Year, Blais guided the Fighting Sioux to two NCAA Championships (1997, 2000) and one runner-up finish in 2001. He led North Dakota to its fifth WCHA title last season and took the Sioux within one game of their fourth Frozen Four appearance before losing to eventual national champion Denver, 1-0, in the West Region Final.

Blais began coaching at the University of Minnesota as an assistant coach during the 1976-77 season. After coaching Minot (N.D.) High School to conference champions and state tournament participants in 1979 and 1980, he embarked on his North Dakota coaching career in 1980 as an assistant coach. From 1980-89, Blais helped the Sioux post a 239-130-11 record and won two NCAA Championships (1982, 1987) as an assistant coach. On May 21, 1994 Blais became the 14th head coach of North Dakota following a two-year stint as athletic director and head hockey coach at International Falls (Minn.) High School, capturing a conference title in 1993.

He has also coached on the world’s stage as an assistant coach with the U.S. Junior National Team in 1987 and 1988 and head coach in 1993. Blais was an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team that competed in the 2000 World Championship.

Before working behind the bench, Blais played four seasons of hockey at the University of Minnesota while earning Gophers’ Rookie of the Year in 1970 and an NCAA All-Tournament selection in 1971. He played one season with the U.S. National Team in 1973, followed by a three-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks’ affiliate in Dallas.

Blais was born on January 18, 1951 in International Falls, Minn. He and his wife, Wendy, are the parents of two daughters, Sarah and Mary Beth, and a son, Ben.

GORD MURPHY, Assistant Coach

Gord Murphy is in his second season with the Blue Jackets after joining the organization as an assistant coach on July 9, 2002. In 14 NHL campaigns as a defenseman with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Atlanta Thrashers, Murphy collected 85 goals and 238 assists for 323 points with 655 penalty minutes in 862 regular season games. His best campaign was 1993-94 when he notched a career-high 14-29-43 in 84 games with Florida. He also played in 53 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, tallying 3-16-19 and 35 penalty minutes. He played for Blue Jackets General Manager and Head Coach Doug MacLean when the Panthers won the Eastern Conference championship and advanced to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals.

Murphy was Philadelphia’s 10th selection, 189th overall, in the 1985 Entry Draft. He played junior hockey for the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals and was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team in 1986-87. He joined the professional ranks in 1987-88 with the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears and helped the Flyers’ affiliate win the 1988 Calder Cup Championship team.

He made his NHL debut in 1988-89 and spent three-plus years with Philadelphia before being traded to Boston to finish up the 1991-92 campaign. In the summer of 1993, Murphy was claimed in the Expansion Draft by the Panthers. He went on to play six seasons with Florida before going to the expansion Atlanta Thrashers in 1999. He wrapped up his career last year with the Bruins and their American Hockey League affiliate in Providence.

Murphy was born in Willowdale, Ontario on Feb. 23, 1967. He and his wife, Nicole, are the parents of sons, Tyler and Connor, and daughter, Lexi. The family resides in Upper Arlington.

RICK WAMSLEY, Goaltending Coach, Pro Scout

Rick Wamsley joined the Blue Jackets as a goaltending coach and pro scout in 1999 after spending six seasons as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. With the Leafs, he served as a pro and amateur scout in 1998-99 and was an assistant coach under Pat Burns from 1996-98. He joined the organization as a goaltending consultant immediately following a 12-year playing career that ended during the 1992-93 season. During his time in Toronto, he worked with then-Maple Leafs goaltender Felix Potvin. During Wamsley’s tenure with the club, Potvin earned NHL All-Rookie honors in 1993 and appeared in a pair of All-Star Games in 1994 and 1996.

During his playing career, Wamsley posted a 204-131-46 record and a 3.34 goals-against average with the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canadiens’ fifth pick, 58th overall, in the 1979 Entry Draft, he made his Montreal debut in 1980-81. He became a full-time NHLer the following season and made it a year to remember as he posted a 23-7-7 record with a 2.75 goals-against average with the Canadiens. That year he shared the William M. Jennings Trophy with teammate Denis Herron as the duo allowed the fewest goals against in the NHL.

He spent three-plus seasons with Montreal before being traded to the Blues in 1984. His nearly four seasons in St. Louis produced 75 wins, including 23 in 1984-85 (23-12-5, 3.26 goals-against average) and 22 in 1985-86 (22-16-3, 3.43 goals-against average). In March 1988, he was traded to Calgary in a deal that sent Brett Hull to the Blues. The highlight of his stint in Calgary came in 1988-89 when he helped the Flames capture the lone Stanley Cup championship in club history.

Wamsley was born on May 25, 1959 in Simcoe, Ontario. He and his wife, Lori, are the parents of three daughters, Kelly, Colleen, and Megan. The family reside s in Oakville, Ontario.

DAN SINGLETON, Video Coordinator

Dan Singleton, 31, joined the Blue Jackets in September 2000 as video coordinator. He came to Columbus after spending the previous six years as the video coordinator for the Michigan State University hockey team. Born in Boulder, Colorado, he grew up in Ottawa, Ontario. He attended McGill University in Montreal and earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1994. He then went to Michigan State, where he earned a master’s degree in sports psychology in 1998. Singleton and his wife, Karin, and son, Braeden, reside in Gahanna.